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Gardeners received sinister seed packs from China

AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
in The potting shed
Came across this story this morning and wondered if anyone on the forum has received an unsolicited pack of "sinister seed" ?
https://www.pressreader.com/uk/daily-mail/20200718/282535840678101
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  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    This sort of thing is happening a lot now. People make a legitimate purchase from a Chinese company via Amazon or Ebay, the company then store their address details, set up fake accounts with the address and send them free items, sometimes fairly regularly while giving themselves glowing reviews for the transactions. The company usually has a stock of goods with an official warehouse like Amazon who ship it out on their behalf and this makes sure they get 'verified' status on the orders. They send out the cheapest rubbish they can to build up their seller status and 5* reviews. Because it's all sent out from the official warehouse the sales look 100% legitimate to companies like Amazon and Ebay. If you receive anything you didn't order then make sure to report it.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    edited July 2020
    Better still, never order anything from China!  There is no control over the quality of the seeds or of any pests and viruses lurking in the seeds they sell which probably are not even the right seed!   Apart from being a waste of money you could be importing some plant pathogen which will wipe out native and/or established species.   Think Dutch elm disease, ash dieback, horse-chestnut leaf miner, xylella fastidiosa bacterium which is wiping out olive groves all over southern Europe and is creeping northwards.

    Buy your seeds from accredited suppliers in the UK or Europe where there are controls and standards and make sure any plants you buy are locally sourced or have been in quarantine before going on sale.  Reputable nurseries and suppliers will do that.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    I assume they are doing that whatever you order, doesn’t necessarily have to be seeds that you originally ordered? I totally agree with @Obelixx though, never order any plant material from outside of reputable local sources/countries with strict phytosanitary controls. 
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    And if anyone does receive unsolicited seed, don't be tempted to grow it. Even if it is labelled as something nice, it probably isn't.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I do use Ebay for odds and ends now and again, although I avoid Amazon if at all possible, but I buy my seeds from recognised sellers here. I wouldn't dream of doing otherwise.
    I avoid all products from China wherever possible too, although that can be difficult. I certainly avoid any sellers from there. 
    I already knew about the scenario that @wild edges describes- it's been widely reported in the last few months. I'm not surprised that they resort to this kind of deception. Par for the course nowadays. I would certainly report anything I hadn't ordered. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    Fairygirl said:
    I already knew about the scenario that @wild edges describes- it's been widely reported in the last few months. I'm not surprised that they resort to this kind of deception. Par for the course nowadays. I would certainly report anything I hadn't ordered. 
    Sadly it's boosted sales from some people in the hopes that they'll get free stuff out of it.

    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    You have to ask yourself where the Dutch got it @Pansyface.   Countries like Australia have strict rules about what is and isn't allowed to enter the country in case it wipes out native species.  Can't even take in an apple you bought to eat on the plane journey to get there and they have trained dogs checking arrivals for foodstuffs.   Quite right too.

    Unfortunately the UK in particular and the EU in general have been historically lax in controlling imports and it's had consequences from new insects with no natural predators to diseases arriving on plant material.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    A nursery owning friend told me that Dutch nurseries are classed as "Clean" if infected stock is 5% or less. Seems ridiculously lax to me. 
    As far as China is concerned, I'd no more buy seeds from China than I'd allow them access to 5G or Telecoms generally, or Nuclear Power Stations.
    Devon.
  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,736
    There's a fine line between not buying substandard products and right out prejudice against China. The Huawei fiasco is ridiculous, they have some of the best 5G network technologies going and this idiotic government just plays up to the bunch of xenophobes and racists to remove them from the UK's privately owned infrastructure. If they buy Ericsson or Nokia equipment, where do you think it's manufactured? In China of course...where is your mobile or computer that you're using to write your comments? Fingers crossed a more enlightened time is coming because the deplorable state of discourse in the UK when it comes to relations with Chine is as toxic as the US.
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    edited July 2020
    amancalledgeorge said:
    There's a fine line between not buying substandard products and right out prejudice against China. The Huawei fiasco is ridiculous, they have some of the best 5G network technologies going and this idiotic government just plays up to the bunch of xenophobes and racists to remove them from the UK's privately owned infrastructure. If they buy Ericsson or Nokia equipment, where do you think it's manufactured? In China of course...where is your mobile or computer that you're using to write your comments? Fingers crossed a more enlightened time is coming because the deplorable state of discourse in the UK when it comes to relations with Chine is as toxic as the US.
    Tell that to the people of Taiwan , or Hong Kong , or Burma , or Tibet  or the Muslims held in The Xinjiang "re-education camps"
    Devon.
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